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By
Suzanne
Interview with Nick Marini of "Hit the
Road" on Audience Network 10/11/17
I enjoyed speaking to this intelligent young actor. I
hope you can check out his show because it's really funny.
Here's a recording
of our interview.
I still have to proofread this, so there may be some
punctuation or other errors.
Suzanne: So how did
this role come about for you? Nick: It was a ... I
initially got the call about an audition, and the next day I
went into this thing. Suzanne: I'm sorry, can you speak
up a little closer to the phone, is that possible? Nick:
Yes. Suzanne: Great. Nick: I initially got the
audition to come in the next day and sing and play an
instrument and I actually don't, I'm not a singer and I
don't play an instrument- Suzanne: Uh-huh. Nick: So,
you know, I asked if I could have more time, and they were
looking for people who were musically talented at first, so
when they re-released it without the musical requirement, I
had jumped to the chance- Suzanne: Right. Nick: And
ended up learning to play very poorly what I got vis-à-vis
for my call back, and I had blisters all over my fingers as
I spent a whole day learning how to play guitar.
Suzanne: Right. Nick: And went in and just had a blast
in the call back room and it just moved on from there.
Suzanne: Well, I hope you kept playing so you got the
callouses built up. If you stop playing, you have to go back to
getting blisters again. Nick: Exactly. Yeah, exactly
,I
got to maintain it. Suzanne: Yeah. So, what else did you
do to prepare for the role? Nick: One of the really nice
things about something like this is that so much, as a
group, as a family, we all get along together so well- Suzanne: That's good. Nick: That there's a lot of that,
a lot of what I think you see on screen in terms of our
brother and sister relationships, and just the way we handle
each other, is really just because we love each other as
people. And so, you know, there wasn't, it may be was a
Tuesday that I found out that I got this, and I was in
Vancouver on Wednesday, so there wasn't a ton of time to
really like, it wasn't like there was time to over-think
anything- Suzanne: Right. Nick: We kind of just got
thrown right in, and it was so much to shoot, and the
writing was so good, that it really helped us kind of jump
right in. Suzanne: Well it sounds like you get along way
better than the characters do. Nick: Yeah, yeah, yeah-
Suzanne: Cause they're kind of dysfunctional- Nick: Yes.
For sure. Suzanne: So, what was it like working with
Jason Alexander? Nick: It was so much fun. You know he
... I really, he's someone that you really look up to as an
actor and just his personality as a human is amazing. He's
such a kind hearted guy, and he's really a thoughtful,
intelligent person as well. Anyone who follows him on
Twitter, or familiar with his stuff outside of the
entertainment industry, he really is a smart guy-
Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: And he is well
versed in politics and what not, so just getting to learn
from him on kind of every level was really exciting-
Suzanne: He- Nick: as an actor, as a citizen, as a
person. Suzanne: He wrote the show, right, as well?
Nick: He along with some others, but yeah, he definitely
shows up for sure, he wrote a lot of it. Suzanne: Okay,
now did he pass on any valuable advice to you? Nick:
Yeah, I mean, I think it was really interesting talking to
him about his experiences that it's just to be patient with
yourself. You know, he talked to me a little bit about ...
I've done some first comedy stuff, but never really kind of
something like this- Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nick: And so just his advice in learning to trust the
process, and you know even telling me that it wasn't until a
few seasons into Seinfeld that he really felt like he was
cooking, that he really felt like he knew where the deep
was, there was plenty of times where he might just say, "Why
don't you try this little thing on what you're doing?"
It
was really, it was really amazing to see how, between him
and our amazing director Jerry, that we were able, that they
were able to help lead us in the right direction.
Suzanne: Great. Now, you said you weren't a singer, have you
learned to sing and do you sing in the show? I've only seen
the first episode. Nick: Yeah, everyone in the family
are amazingly talented musicians, as is the singer who you
hear when I sing. Suzanne: Oh so you're not necessarily,
okay- Nick: But my ... should there be a season two, my
definite goal is to not get dubbed. Suzanne: Ah, right. I
know Jason's a really amazing singer, and you have the other
actors doing their own parts, or are they being dubbed as
well? Nick: Oh, no. They all do everything. Suzanne:
Oh. Okay. Nick: Yeah, they're amazing. I got to go into
the recording studio with them and watch them all just lay
down some awesome stuff on some tracks, and I got to shot my
name once. That really contributed to that process.
Suzanne: Well that must give you a lot of inspiration to
watch them do their thing for you to learn. Nick: Oh
absolutely, and you know the girl who plays, everyone is
supremely talented, but watching this eleven year old just
like belting out some soulful lyrics, she is, Mattie is
awesome. Suzanne: Oh yeah, she was great. She was so
funny. It's such a funny show, I watched it and I was just
cracking up. Nick: Oh, good. Suzanne: I hope everyone
watches the whole first episode, because you know at the
beginning, you're kind of like, "Eh, what is this?" But then
it gets funnier and funnier towards the end. Nick: Yeah,
it really picks up steam. Suzanne: Oh, my gosh. My eyes,
I was crying, my eyes, I was laughing so hard. Nick: Oh,
good. Suzanne: Now the show, parts of the show, and I'm
sure this is intentional, remind me of the old show of The
Partridge Family, have you ever watched the old Partridge
Family episodes? Nick: You know, that was definitely a
something we were looking at, we, I think Jason described it
on Conan as The Partridge Family on acid. But yeah, The
Partridge Family was a definite inspiration for that.
Suzanne: Yeah, I can tell from the costumes, they're very
much like The Partridge Family. Nick: Yeah. Suzanne:
And then I guess the whole- Nick: They're perfectly like
it. Suzanne: The whole family value thing would sort of
be like the Osmonds or something like that, one of those, I
think there's some country music families that sing together
like that too, but yeah- Nick: We definitely, we
definitely encounter some of that as well. Suzanne: Now
is there anything you can tell us about the upcoming
episodes that won't be a spoiler? Nick: Yeah, what I
really like about the upcoming episodes, everyone gets, we
get in a bunch of different, each character kind of gets
into their own shenanigans, so there's like the college, we
end up at college, and of course Rhea and Alex have two very
different takes on what college would mean to them. And
then, you know, we get into all sorts of [inaudible
00:08:28] but down the line we end up getting to work with
Richard Dreyfus and Meatloaf and so it's that- Suzanne:
Oh great. Nick: It gets really fun. Suzanne: Oh,
that's good. Yeah, any other notable guest stars. Nick:
Those were our two really big ones. Everyone who came on the
show was just so much fun to work with. Suzanne: Yeah.
What- Nick: I- Suzanne: What I enjoyed [crosstalk
00:08:55] sorry. What I enjoyed about your character, and
the way you play him, is you can just tell on your face,
that you're having so much fun, you know you just- Nick:
Yeah. Suzanne: Like gleeful, I don't know how to describe
it. Nick: Well, the character was first described to me
as a stoner puppy. Suzanne: That makes sense now.
Nick: Yeah, that really just resonated with me, it really
clicked, so I think he ...the puppy's, they are going to
follow you everywhere, and they're really excited about it,
and even if they don't quite understand the game, they
really want to play. And so yeah it was so much fun- Suzanne: Oh- Nick: It was you know really interestingly
more exhausting than I thought it would be. Suzanne:
Mm-hmm. Nick: And I'm a pretty upbeat person I would say,
but I'm a thinker as well, and I think Alex is not as much
of a thinker as I am. And so it was really fun, luckily we
had, just talk about a fun set getting to be with kids all
got along so well, they got to hang out with Mattie, if you
were ever not, not in a good mood that day, the moment
little Mattie turned the corner and sang your name and gave
you a hug, it was- Suzanne: Ah. Nick: Even better.
Suzanne: Oh, that's great. It's an amazing cast, there's
like every person there's like, this person's really
interesting and fun, and you want to get to know them
better. They did that well. Nick: Good. Suzanne: And
naming the black kid Jermaine was just great, because of the
Jacksons. Nick: He's, he's- Suzanne: He's amazing.
He's funny. Nick: He and his family are just the nicest,
most wholesome people I have ever met, I love them to death,
and to be doing and saying all of these things felt so
wrong, but it was so much fun. Suzanne: Yeah those were,
that's why I really started laughing, it was the scenes with
him and Jason, and made the association. Nick: Yeah.
Yeah. Suzanne: It was great. So besides this, do you have
anything else you're working on? Nick: Not at the
moment, I'm you know, this is the life of an actor- Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: You know, you get a
job and then you know, you got to go get another one.
Suzanne: Right. Nick: I'm back to, back to the
excitement that is having no idea what tomorrow will hold.
Suzanne: So how does it work? You've got a series, but
you don't know whether there will be another season or not-
Nick: Don't know whether there will be another season.
Suzanne: And in the meantime, you're auditioning for other
roles, how do they? I always wonder, how do they work that
out, what if you got a role on another TV show, you'd have
to say, well I'm not sure or- Nick: Well, there are
certain, there are certain contracts that everyone signs, so
if Hit the Road comes back then I could do small roles on
other shows and what not- Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Nick: But for now they got me, and I'm happy they do.
Suzanne: That's good. That's good. So if someone came along
and said, "We want you to star in this NBC show," you'd have
to say, "No, sorry, I'm on this show now." Nick: Yeah.
Suzanne: Oh, Okay. That makes sense. That makes sense.
But if they wanted you to guest star on something then you
could work it out- Nick: Totally. And I'd be happy to hop
in. Suzanne: Cool. And I couldn't find you on Twitter,
are you on social media? Nick: Yeah, I'm on Instagram,
my Twitter is ... I must admit, very sad. I don't know that
I've totally figured it out yet, but I'm on Instagram.
Suzanne: Okay. Nick: And a- Suzanne: I'll look for
you on there. Nick: Yeah, I try. It's funny, it's a
whole ... I really thrive on genuine interaction.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: And so sometimes
it's I'm not the best about kind of posting self-promotional
things and with that I kind of just so- Suzanne: Yeah.
Nick: I'm still learning that aspect of the business.
Suzanne: Well at least you're doing your own and not hiring
some guy to do it for you. I think some actors do that, in
fact I know they do. Nick: I'm sure they do, yes.
Suzanne: So, besides writing this up for my side, I'm also
probably going to write a small article for the local campus
paper, I'm taking classes at the college- Nick: Oh, cool.
Suzanne: and so I wanted to ask you a few questions
about just being a millennial and that kind of thing.
Nick: Yeah. Suzanne: So, your parents were actors, so
did you feel that gave you a bit of an edge in getting jobs,
cause I know you were going to do something else first
before you decided to be an actor. Nick: Yeah, yeah, I
think what it really, where it really helped was just having
people who have done it and can guide you- Suzanne:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: So you know I'm sure that
there were mistakes my parents made when they were young,
because they didn't know really how the business worked-
Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: You know and just
knowing that like is this going to be something that's good
for your career? Or is this just something that's gonna be a
wash? Is it worth doing this thing? Or who should I study
with? All of those questions, my parents either had the
answer to or knew someone who did. Suzanne: Right.
Right. So that helps, yeah. Nick: And so that was really
helpful, and also I think I understood because I was able to
watch them really struggle and succeed in that struggle, I
had a better understanding of what it was I was embarking
upon. Suzanne: Right. Nick: And so I think, you
watch a lot of people, I know people who have moved to LA
after I moved here, and then they arrived, and they've
already left. I think part of that, part of the reason I've
been able to kind of just keep plugging away is because I
had an actor's representation of just how hard it is-
Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: Just how much you
have to commit to it. Suzanne: Sure. Nick: My
parents were really instrumental in that regard. Suzanne:
Good. Yeah. Because I think yeah, right, a lot of people go
there thinking, "Oh, I'm going to be discovered and be rich
and famous, and it's gonna take oh, a couple months and I'll
be ... " Nick: Yeah. You know it's so interesting, when I
graduated college and it was between me and one other guy
for one of the leads on Scream, which is an MTV show.
Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: And so you know from
the outside perspective, I would have just graduated college
and then immediatly been on a TV show, if the cards had
fallen in that right, in that way. Suzanne: Mm-hmm
(affirmative). Nick: And so it would have looked it, it
would have looked like, it came out of nowhere, like this
kid just appeared and he's in this thing- Suzanne: Mm-hmm
(affirmative). Nick: You know it's that Hollywood dream,
right- Suzanne: Sure. Nick: You know, no one would
have seen the literally hundreds of bus rides from
Philadelphia to New York for auditions, and call backs, and
just all of the hours, all of the years that were put into
get myself to a position where I could have an opportunity-
Suzanne: Right. Nick: I think, I think for anyone who is
pursuing anything, it's persistence- Suzanne: Mm-hmm
(affirmative). Nick: You know, I think the best advice my
mom gave to me about auditioning is be excited for the no's.
It's a numbers game. You know if you go on enough auditions
you will be perfect for something. And so every time you get
a no, just check it off, you're one closer to a yes.
Suzanne: Oh, that's a good way of looking at it. Now as
someone who's fairly young, do you see any difference in
Hollywood in the way people of different ages are treated or
... I know in the so called real world I guess, it seems
like in businesses unless you're going to a start-up or
something, you know they treat younger people like they
don't know anything, and then eventually you get to work
your way up, and you can show you know something. And then
Hollywood has a reputation of being more younger oriented,
what do you think about that? Nick: Yeah, I mean I think
there's a lot of opportunity especially in Hollywood for
young people. I think we're moving more towards an
understanding that, that of course experience is important,
but so is fresh perspective and it's really interesting for
someone who's studied film theory in college, it's always
fascinating to watch how things are getting put together
cause it's ... I have my own perspective on what I would
like to do, and it's always amazing when you feel like, "Oh
yes, they've been doing this a lot longer than I have. and
that's why they did it that way, now I understand in
practice what I didn't in theory." Suzanne: Mm-hmm
(affirmative). Nick: But I do think that I think there's
a lot of young .... there's some directors coming up now who
are young. There's really been some good in-roads into this
industry that will take it in a fresh perspective, I think.
You know I always I'm always on the look out for those
people because as incredible as it is, and as valuable as it
is to get to work with someone like Jason you know and just
soak up everything he knows, I also want to find those
contemporaries of mine that will be doing the things that I
want to do and get to work with them. That's something I
really look forward to doing. Suzanne: Great. And now,
do you think that Hollywood is embracing newer technology as
well as they could? I saw something the other day how
Samsung was trying to change the movie theaters, do you
think that in the day-to-day activity filming that Hollywood
uses technology or are they a little reluctant ... I know
that most jobs are like well, we'll go with this way because
this is the way we've always done it. Nick: Yeah, I mean
I think what's really fascinating about the industry is that
there is, there's real hold outs, and there's also just
absolute kind of cutting edge stuff. For instance, a term
that you always used when you had finished shooting a scene
is you say, "Checking the gates." Suzanne: Mm-hmm
(affirmative). Nick: And that has to do with making sure
that, there used to be, you'd have to check the lenses to
make sure there wasn't any dust on the lenses- Suzanne:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick: To make sure that that
everything you just shot didn't have speckles of dust in the
frame- Suzanne: Right. Nick: You had to check the
gate for dust, and we don't really have that anymore- Suzanne: Right. Nick: That technology is expired, and so
it's really fun when you, a lot of the terminology in film
and television really hasn't changed at all- Suzanne:
Right. Nick: But at the same time, you know with cameras
just getting better every year, and 3D technology ... my
older brother has gotten to work on some 3D, he worked with
a company and helps innovate and stuff with 3D cameras, they
can reset times faster- Suzanne: Right. Nick: And so I
think, I think that we're really, they're finding it, and
with CGI and all that stuff, I think it's, I think what
people are starting to find is that there's a balance that
must be made. Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Nick:
That must be kept because there's ... as amazing as that
technology is, there is a level of just realness that people
appreciate- Suzanne: Right. Nick: And so I think it
will be really interesting to see how the augmented reality
starts to, how those platforms and those technologies start
to integrate with actors getting to work in those fields-
Suzanne: Yeah. Nick: And I'm excited, I want to get more
into doing some video games and motion capture, because that
to me is the exciting cross section of Suzanne: Mm-hmm
(affirmative). Nick: Of the physical and the digital.
Suzanne: Okay, great. And is there any advice you have for
younger people who want to get into your field? Nick:
Just keep knocking at the door, you know i really can't ...
this is an industry I think that ... I've been in LA now for
three yeas, I graduated college in 2014, hopped in the
Atlantic Ocean drove out here, hopped in the Pacific, and
just got down to business. And, you know, I think that it
takes a while for people to get to know you, and for casting
directors to get to know you, and directors to get to know
you, so I think you know every time you go like and it's
happened to me, it's happened to me, like, "Man, this is so
hard," and I feel like giving up and every time I've pushed
a little bit past that, something amazing has happened. So I
just think you got to stay hungry, and you got to stay
driven, and if you can do that, then you can do anything.
Suzanne: I think those are probably wise words for any
profession that anyone starting actually. Nick: Yeah.
Suzanne: All right. Thank you. I really appreciate your
thoughtful answers, and you taking the time. Nick: Well,
thank you so much. It was a pleasure. Suzanne: And
my site is TV Megasite and you can find us at TVMeg.com Nick: Awesome. Wonderful. Suzanne: Alright,
thank you. Nick: Thank you. Suzanne: Bye-bye. Transcribed by Rhonda of Rev.com
MORE:
Audiences will be instantly addicted to broodingly
handsome breakout star, Nick
Marini! As one-to-watch this year, he
will soon take over television sets nationwide in the
Jason Alexander ("Seinfeld") produced new original
comedy series "Hit the Road,"
premiering on
Tuesday, October 17th on the Audience Network.
Co-created by Jason Alexander, Emmy-nominated
comedy writer Peter Tilden and British Screenwriter Dean
Craig ("Death at A Funeral"), "Hit The Road" centers
around a fearless, chaotic musical family of would-be
rock/pop stars who traverse the country in a cramped
tour bus in search of fame and fortune to claim their
rightful place in pop history. Standing out alongside
veteran award-winning actors, this fresh-faced
26-year-old gives a commanding and brilliant standout
performance as "Sam," the impulse-driven son of Ken
Swallow, played by Jason Alexander. Oscar winner Richard
Dreyfuss guest-stars as Alexander's dysfunctional
father, and Amy Pietz ("The Office") stars as "Maggie,"
the bohemian, unorthodox mom.
Growing up in Philadelphia, DC and New York City,
Marini spent his childhood
backstage and always felt a pull to the industry.
Originally setting out to become a diplomat and leave
the family business behind, it was not until high school
that Nick realized his true passion as an actor and
storyteller. He graduated from the prestigious
University of Pennsylvania as a Cinema and Media Studies
major, and moved to Los Angeles after graduation.
Marini made his film debut as
"Bobby" in SUMMER OF 8 and appeared as "Danny Jones" in
NBC's hit medical drama "Chicago Med."
An undeniable talent and sure to be Hollywood's
next great leading man!
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